Predestination vs Free Will | Foreknew Meaning | Is the Holy Spirit Predestined? | God and planning

The Biblical view of receiving the Holy Spirit

The following document seeks to present the Biblical view of receiving the Holy Spirit. Comparing Predestination and Free Will. It shows that God does not force His desire on people, that people have a free will choice to either accept or reject Jesus.

The contention between Free Will and Predestination

There are vast differences between Free Will's version of receiving the Holy Spirit and Predestinations. We will discuss these differences. We show:

God reveals His will
If man accepts and obeys God's will
God will love the person
God will give that person the Holy Spirit

This is contry to Calvanism which states:

Before creation God chooses some to redeem and others damn
Man can not obey without the Holy Spirit so is powerless
God draws and gives the Holy Spirit to those He has presestined to life

Let's Define Free Will and Predestination View

Predestination

Predestination puts the ball in God's court, saying He alone selects who will be saved or damned. It allows no provision for man's choices (in regard to salvation). Stating salvation is by a predetermined will, that before creation God choose some people to save, and others He selected to damn.

Predestination states that God blinds the part of mankind that He wishes not to save, and only gives sight to those He chooses quoting scriptures like:

Matthew 13:15 (NKJV) FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE GROWN DULL. THEIR EARS ARE HARD OF HEARING, AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, LEST THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, SO THAT I SHOULD HEAL THEM.'

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."

Free Will

Free will on the other hand states that God reveals His will to man, and man's response to God's will determines if he will be saved or not. That blindness only occurs after a person has closed their ears to the truth. Stating that Mathew 13:15 says, "AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED". Showing scripture like:

Job 36:10-12 (NKJV) He also opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.

The scripture reveals a choice is given to people, to either obey, or disobey what God has revealed, and the outcome of the choice determines ones salvation. As for the Father's choosing they will point to the fact that a person is only chosen to receive the Holy Spirit after committing to follow God's ways. The primary work being to have faith in Jesus (John 6:28-29), when a person chooses Christ (and His ways), the love of God, the Holy Spirit is given.

John 14:22-24 (NKJV) Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

Jesus's Words on How one receives the Holy Spirit

The Father loves the one who follows His ways

Because Jesus's words carry more weight than any other we will speak of what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit. The following are direct quotes from Jesus regarding the how to receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15-17 (NKJV) "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus makes the following points:

When one keeps Jesus words,
the Father will love that one,
and come and make a home with the person.

The order here is important obedience leads to God's love being poured out and sight being given. So it could be said the following scripture used by Predestination is negated by the above facts. That sight is given to the obedient, the Father draws the obedient.

John 6:44 (NKJV) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Predestination suggests that man is unable to obey, seen as carnal, and disobedient, unable to obey, depraved (Romans 8:7). They think the only way a man can be saved is for God to reach down and essentually force the Holy Spirit on them. But this is not what John 14 says. Obedience is the cause of God's love, the reason why God reveals Himself. Obedience is a choice, a free will decision.

We have to see it is the obedient who are drawn to receive the Holy Spirit. This does not negate the fact that we are saved by faith, by believing in Jesus (Romans 4:6-8, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 5:13), it just shows our choices in regard to how we approach God are important. We can not say "I will receive God's gift but not change in any way", we must follow God's word. So it is not stating we are saved by a series of good deeds, but rather our response to what God reveals in His word is important. Salvation was similar in the Old Testament we see it displayed in Job (below) it shows our response to God's word determines our eternal outcome.

Blindness and Salvation

In the preceding passages we speak of blindness. Now I wish to discuss how it occurs. Blindness seems to only happen after the rejection of God's evidences, not before.

Romans 1:21 (NKJV) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We also see that those that are blinded to faith by God are those who had no pleasure in righteousness, who chose to not love the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (NKJV) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The Early Church Father Iranaeus [A.D. 120-202.] calls this self blinding.

Iranaeus - Against Heresies - Book 4 Ch 39-End

4. But God, foreknowing all things, prepared fit habitations for both, kindly conferring that light which they desire on those who seek after the light of incorruption, and resort to it; but for the despisers and mockers who avoid and turn themselves away from this light, and who do, as it were, blind themselves, He has prepared darkness suitable to persons who oppose the light, and He has inflicted an appropriate punishment upon those who try to avoid being subject to Him. Submission to God is eternal rest, so that they who shun the light have a place worthy of their flight; and those who fly from eternal rest, have a habitation in accordance with their fleeing. Now, since all good things are with God, they who by their own determination fly from God, do defraud themselves of all good things; and having been [thus] defrauded of all good things with respect to God, they shall consequently fall under the just judgment of God. (Rev. Rambaut W. H. 1867, Ch 39 - End^*E0).

References

NKJV: The Holy Bible: New King James Version. (1982). Thomas Nelson.

*E0 - Rev. Rambaut W. H. 1867, Against Heresies - Book 4 Ch 39 - End | Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, eSword, eBook, accessed 16 April 2023, <https://www.e-sword.net>.